AYRA"Ayra! Where were you? We saw the ashes in your bedroom," Reese said, pulling me into a hug the moment I stepped into the living room."Sorry. I followed Nathaniel somewhere to see if I could get back my memory."Nikki's eyes widened in surprise. "So, the rumors were true. You and the Alpha had a run in the woods.""Seriously, how fast do the rumors travel around here?""Well, did you?""No. I followed him somewhere to see if I can remember anything about my past.""Did you remember anything?"The woman and the man flashed through my mind again. "Not really. I need to take a bath. Can we have this talk later?"They both nodded. "Come downstairs when you're refreshed," said Reese.I climbed up the stairs, coming across Seth along the way."Hey." I waved at him, but he merely walked past me, ignoring me completely. I shrugged. Maybe he was having a bad day. Too tired to mull on it, I walked into my room, all traces of the
NATHANIEL"Interesting thing you've got going on with your mate," Ishmael said. I could hear him snag the glass of whisky from my table.I didn't bother opening my eyes when I answered. "Ayra is not my mate. Demons don't do mates."At least it was rare. I knew that much. Only a few demons I knew in my life had such a connection, and they weren't even referred to as 'mates'. There wasn't a term to describe it, but everyone around just knew their lives were intertwined. If one died, then the other would follow. That made demons dread that type of commitment. Who would want to die for their partner?What was common amongst demons was marking. It was a way to exert dominance or stake a claim over another. It went both ways. The males and the females could do it.The mark lasted for as long as the demon was interested in the other. As long as I was interested in Ayra, the mark wouldn't fade, and as long as the mark didn't fade, the demons would always attack
NATHANIEL "So, Ayra is making the preparations for the Blood Moon Festival. That's surprising," Kai said, his eyes holding questions he feared to voice out."I am just as surprised myself," Logan added.Handing the responsibilities of the ceremony had been a spur-of-the-moment decision in a bid to distract her from the questions she was asking. She'd been hellbent on getting answers, but that quickly changed when I offered the job to her.I couldn't bring myself to take the role away from her after seeing the way her eyes brightened up in anticipation. I'd have to deal with the stares and gossip from the people, not that I cared that much about them in the first place."Ask whatever you two want to ask," I said when they kept staring at me expectantly."What is wrong with you? You're acting unlike your usual self. Is it something we have to be worried about?" Logan asked, always the first to speak his mind even in difficult situations. "How am I ac
AYRA"Sawyer and Shane are trying out to be part of the Pack Enforcers," Reese said as we moved down the produce aisle.It had been two weeks since Ishmael had tried to help me recover my memories, and during that time frame, I'd tried out some other potions. None of them worked, so I finally gave up. It was pointless, anyway. It only put more stress on Ishmael, but the sorcerer didn't seem to mind. He promised to track down the sorcerer who put the lock on my memories even after I'd asked him not to."Good luck to them. Right now, my brain is fried from the excessive work Kimberly and I have to go through.""You wanted the job," Reese pointed out."Yeah. It helps to keep me busy, but at the end of the day, it leaves me feeling like shit from how tired I am. I don't know how Kimberly does it. She never looks like she's tired.""I've heard orgasms are great stress relief. You should try it sometime," she said, wiggling her brows suggestively. "You've
NATHANIEL"What are you talking about?" I asked, keeping my voice calm even though my thoughts flew around in my head in a frenzy.Did she find out the truth about me being a demon?Did Sandra tell her?She was the only one that knew about it, after all. "Don't insult me by saying you don't know what I'm talking about or try to act like I'm insane.""Why would I do that?""Because all you do is lie.""When have I ever lied to you?""Um, every single fucking time I've asked you a question? If you don't lie, you give a very vague answer which doesn't help at all.""And how would you know I wasn't telling the truth all those times?"She crossed her arms, shooting me a glare. "I asked if you were going after the Nighthowler just this morning, and you said no. What changed in the space of a few hours?""There are some things you're better off not knowing.""So you said. Honestly, I'm not even bothered by that anymore. What I'm con
NATHANIELI was strapped to a bed, whimpering as the man drew closer with a syringe in his hand. "I promise this won't hurt," he cooed with a smile."No," I cried, yanking at the bindings that held my hands and legs in place.What the fuck was happening?It took me a while to realize the thoughts weren't mine, but Ayra's. I opened my eyes, expecting her to squirm in bed, but she slept soundly, leaving me wondering if the thoughts were even hers."Go back to sleep," she groaned when I sat up on the bed."You can go back to sleep. I have to get to work," I replied, sliding off the bed.When I looked at her again, she was curled into her side, deep in her sleep. There was a shift inside of me. That was the only way to describe how I felt inside. It was as if I was attuned to her thoughts without even having to try.Normally, I could get into her head or anyone else's for that matter, but it would take effort. My demon was calmer than usual
BRIARWOODDALIA"What the fuck did you do to Ayra?" Cara snarled, pushing away from her bed. "You were supposed to get her on our side.""I know," I replied, squaring my shoulders in preparation for her berating.I never did anything right in her eyes, but that was okay. I wasn't doing this for her, anyway. I was doing it for the helpless young girls that huddled in the corner, shaking with fear. They didn't deserve this fate. "So? Why did you do that to her? She could have died.""No," I said, firmly. They didn't know Ayra as much as I did. She was stronger than that."You know, I've always been skeptical of this plan of yours. Why not just go directly to Nathaniel? He's a demon, and he's your cousin. He'll help us."I shook my head at her. She didn't know how the Black men worked, and how loyal their demons were to only their mate after being mated. Naturally, demons were unfeeling beings, and most of the time, they didn't form attachment
AYRA"It's funny how you keep me locked up during the day, but you practically drag me up to the top of a cliff late at night. We're past the border, aren't we?" I asked, taking in the view below me.With the moon this bright, it illuminated the ocean below. The consistent overlapping waves and the soft wind blowing were like music to my ears, and the serenity of it oddly calming. "I'm not busy at night. I don't have to worry about something attacking you from a mirror.""What? So, you're saying Dalia won't be able to do any damage if she attacked us right now?""She wouldn't dare. She might be a powerful Nighthowler, but she knows how far those powers of hers stretch."There was that confidence again. Granted I'd never seen him in action in his wolf form, but it was rather surprising that even demons were scared of him."And how far does yours stretch?""Wouldn't consider it too far and too little. Somewhere in the middle. There are some creatu
NATHANIEL"It took a long while to find you, but here I am. Three long decades since we last saw each other," Knox said with a smile."Why are you looking for me?" I asked.His lips twisted into a smirk. "I'm hurt, Nate. And here I was thinking you'd welcome me to your little island with a feast.I sighed, scrubbing my hand down my face. "My bad. I've just had a lot on my table for a while.""I heard. You're fucking Zachary's sister." He leaned back in his seat, propping his feet on my desk. "Does he know?""I'm not fucking her. She's my mate."He shrugged. "Same difference."Supernaturals didn't age as quickly as humans did, so after ten years, Knox still looked the same with his honey-colored eyes and dirty blond hair. The only thing that changed about him was the length of his hair and the scar that ran from his temple to his jaw.I first met him when I was pack hopping with my brothers. He ran away from home to escape his controlling father - his words, not mine - and he somehow e
RYKER"What's your problem, Ry? It's so early in the morning. What do you want to talk about?" Samuel asked, rubbing his eyes as he trudged into the room where kept Draven's unconscious body.He was still dressed in his pajamas, and clearly didn't appreciate being woken up, but I had to make some things clear.Starting with our uncles being alive."What happened to the Brothers of Doom?" I asked, and the change in Samuel was abrupt.His stance straightened while his eyes glared daggers at me. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What lies did Ishmael fill your head with?""That's funny seeing as Ishmael wasn't conscious when Benjamin and I got there." I walked over to Draven. He was strapped to a bed pushed against the wall, and above his bed hung Eris's bloodstones."Why are you asking me this?""Because I never saw their bodies. Raises some questions in the air, don't you think?""Do you think I'd lie about their deaths? For fuck's sake, what type of fucked up person do you think I am?
NATHANIEL“Who is Zachary?” Ayra asked out of the blue.I looked away from the movie playing on the TV screen. “Hm?”She rolled her eyes at me. “You heard me, Nathaniel.”I did, but I didn’t know whether to answer her question or lie. I wanted her to meet with her family, but at the same time, I didn’t know if she was ready for that yet.“I already told you. He’s a friend. Is something bugging you?”She shook her head. “No, not at all. My mind just kind of roamed.”“You’re lying.”She refused to meet my eyes. “No, I’m not.”“Don’t lie to me, Ayra. Why are you asking about Zachary?”“I hear voices in my head. I think it’s my family, and I think they are lost.”“Lost?”“Yes. They’ve been whispering in my head for the last few days, and they keep telling me to go look for Zachary. They said our relationship is cursed. And I think Zachary is my brother.”Did she know already? That meant there was no need to hide who Zachary was from her.“Let’s first start with this. Why didn’t you tell me
AYRA“Rise and shine, mate,” I sang, pushing the curtains aside to let the sunlight stream into the room.“Shut up,” Nathaniel groaned, placing his forearm over his eyes to block the unwanted light in the room. “It’s too early in the morning to be this chirpy.”“Says the freak who goes for a run and to the gym every morning. Plus, it’s one in the afternoon.”His eyes snapped open. “No shit?” He frowned, sitting up on the bed. “I never sleep for that long.”“I know.” That showed just how burned out he was. He was usually as early as five in the morning, and he didn’t go to bed until it was late. “You needed the rest.”He slid off the bed, scrubbing his hand down his face. “I should go check on Kai and the rest.”I jumped in front of him, blocking his path. “No, you also need some rest. I already checked on them, and I informed them of your condition.”“What condition? Nothing is wrong with me. I’m fine.”“Mentally?” I asked, raising a knowing brow at him. I knew he blamed himself for t
NATHANIEL“Logan, stand the fuck up. We have to get out of here!” I heard Theo scream from inside the temple. “It’s going to fucking sink.”Shit.I snapped my wings up behind me as it took off into the air, heading straight for the building. I went in through the wall Benjamin and I had broken down during our scuffle.“Holy shit,” Theo gasped.Fuck. I had temporarily forgotten that none of them knew the truth. I had a feeling things would go downhill from here, but I had to save them first.“Holy fuck, Nathaniel, is that you?” Theo asked as he struggled to lean up against the wall.“Yes. Hold on. I’ll get Logan down and come for you.”I flew out of the temple with Logan on my shoulder, all the while mindful of the cracks spreading across the walls.I had to get back to Theo before the building crumbled, but I also had to make sure Logan was far away from the building to avoid getting crushed when the building collapsed.When I was sure he and Ishmael were far enough from the building,
NATHANIELI eyed Benjamin as he walked in through the doors, a triumphant grin on his lips. He had Ryker and three other demons behind him, but Samuel was nowhere to be seen.“I honestly never thought it’d be this easy, but it seems we’ve placed you on this unreachable and unrealistic pedestal that we’ve let trap our minds and abilities.”“All that speech and you can’t even handle shit on your own.”“Yeah? Explain to me why I’ve got over ten of your Enforcers tied down right now. If those aren’t your lap dogs handling their master’s dirty work, then I don’t know what to call that.” He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a key, which he tossed at Tiana. “Good work keeping them busy. We’ve got it covered from here.”She dove for the key like her existence depended on it, something akin to relief flashing through her eyes. Her gaze cut over to me, and she offered me a sad smile.“It’s nothing personal,” she mouthed before promptly disappearing.Nothing personal, my ass. If I got the
NATHANIELI studied the cracks on the stone walls, wondering just how long this temple dated back. I was also questioning the durability of the building. Who knew if it would crumble any minute from now?There were no decorations inside the temple save for a wooden statue, which looked like a couple of termites had gone down to work on it over the years.“What are we gonna do? Call Ozark out here, and ask him to translate the spell?” Theo asked, his voice echoing off the walls.“And ask for the bloodstone. Don’t forget that.”“I’m doubting you now. What do we do? Sit?”Ishmael shrugged, reaching into his satchel. “You might as well. The same goes for you. Summoning Ozark is going to take a while.”Dismissed, I moved over to the half-broken wooden window, pushing it all the way open. It fell off its hinges, hitting the ground below.“I’ll go scout the place to see if anyone’s here. The dead body out front didn’t get there itself,” Theo informed us before going down a narrow hallway.“Wh
AYRAI paced the halls of the hospital, fear and anxiety making me jittery. I was anxious because Reese was in the delivery room, and afraid because I did not know how and what Nathaniel was doing right now.He left first thing in the morning with Ishmael and all his Enforcers, including Sawyer, so he wasn’t here to support Reese during her delivery.I had no idea where Nikki was, and Kimberly was busy with work, so I was here alone. Kimberly wanted to be here, but Reese ordered her not to. She said Kimberly could see the baby when it was born.“Anxious much?”I sighed in relief, turning to face the Nighthowler. “Dalia.” I needed someone to vent to, and she appeared at the right time.“What’s going on?”I pointed at the door behind me. “A friend of mine is in the delivery room.”“I see. The one you were shopping for.”“Yes.”“Anything else on your mind? Where is Nathaniel? Shouldn’t he be here?”“Why should he be?”Dalia shrugged noncommittally, dropping onto a chair placed in the hal
AYRAI stood on a podium in front of an immense crowd, fear licking every inch of my spine. Their faces were blurred, but I could still make out their anger.Was the anger directed at me?I panicked, my palms turning clammy while my mouth dried up. I took steps backward, ready to flee the scene, when a hand clamped down on my shoulder.I immediately felt calm soar through me, and my racing heart slowed down. I turned my head to the side to look at the woman, but her face was also blurry.Frustration replaced that calm. Why couldn’t I see anyone?“What’s going on?” I asked, pointing at the crowd.“Come here, honey,” the smoky voice said, but there was no mistaking the femininity it held.I knew that voice.“Mom?” I asked, tears suddenly pooling at the bottom of my lids.I could make out the outline of her smile as she raised her hand to cup the side of my face. “Yes, honey. It’s me. You’re all grown up now.”“What do you mean?”“It’s been a long year. I’ve missed you.”“Me too. Where a